Coin disks

ABSTRACT

A floppy disk cartridge adapter having a removable coin shaped memory disk. The 3 &amp; 1/2 inch size cartridge adapter can fit into conventional personal computer disk drives. The small coin shaped magnetic disk has a diameter of approximately 1 inch, and can be easily snapped into and removed from the cartridge adapter. The coin disk fits on a spindle that is side by side to the floating drive plate used in regular 3 &amp; 1/2 inch floppy diskettes. The spindle can be attached by various drive systems to rotate simultaneously with the rotating drive plate. One version is belt driven, another has the coin disk snap onto a spindle supported wheel whose sides frictionally rub against the drive plate wheel, and a third version has the coin disk snap onto the spindle supported gear wheel whose sides contain teeth which mateably engage like side teeth on the drive plate wheel. The coin disk can alternatively be inserted into a separate casing having a spring loaded shutter so that the conventional disk drive being used can access the magnetic sides of the coin disk by sliding the shutter. When removed from the cartridge adapter, the disk can be inserted into a small clip retainer which has a paper clip edge allowing the coin shaped disk to be portably mounted on papers, cardboard, clipboards and the like.

This invention relates to computer memory discs, and in particular to anfloppy disk sized adapter device that allows removable coin sized disksto record information within conventional personal computer diskdrivers.

BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART

Conventional computer disk drivers on IBM compatible personal computers(PCs) such as those from Compaq, Hewlett Packard, Texas Instruments andeven Apple generally use a standard 3 & 1/2 inch floppy diskettecartridges. It has become a wide practice for persons to manually passthese floppy diskettes around when updating and submitting papers toother parties. Typically, the only way of protecting a single 3&1/2 inchfloppy diskette cartridges is to use the paper type sleeve they come in.However, there are problems with being able to manually transportindividual diskette cartridges. The paper sleeves are usuallypaper-thin, easily wear and become torn after a short use. Additionally,the size of these floppy diskette cartridges makes them difficult toattach to hardcopy paper versions with traditional fastening means suchas paper clips. The large size of these cartridges can cause thecartridge to become separated from the attached paper and become lost.Furthermore, the bulky 3 & 1/2 inch rigid square shape of the cartridgerequires a storage space of at least those dimensions. The large plasticcarrying cases which hold multiple disks are too cumbersome to be usedfor holding just a single disk. Most 3 & 1/2 inch floppy diskettes thatpass around offices utilize less than 20 to 30% of their storage spaceresulting in substantial wasted space. Furthermore most 3 & 1/2 inchdiskettes are not passed around in protective paper type sleeves, and asa result the magnetic disk in the diskette cartridges can becomedemagnetized and even damaged from normal wear and tear.

Cartridge and disk adapters have been proposed over the past severalyears, but fail to overcome all the problems described above. U.S. Pat.No. 5,208,802 to Suzuki et al. describes a disk adapter for a diskcartridge that uses a spacer-component to fill in the space aboutsmaller sized disks. However, Suzuki '802 requires using a separateplastic disk adapter piece as the spacer-component that detaches fromthe cartridge housing and thus can become easily damaged, and lost.Furthermore, both this plastic adapter piece and the disk must each beinserted and snapped into place within the housing between uses whichwould tend to wear out the plastic adapter over time and thus not allowit to be readily reusable. U.S. Pat. No. 5,150,354 to Iwata et al.describes a disk cartridge having a hinged side opening for allowingonly a full size magnetic disk to be inserted therein. U.S. Pat. No.5,475,674 to Yamashita et al. describes a disc case that is limited toonly holding full-sized removable magnetic disks. U.S. Pat. Nos.:5,331,627 to Childers et al.; 5,677,898 to Hasegawa et al. and 5,715,233to Yoshida et al. each describes cartridge adapter devices where one ormore smaller cartridges(each housing a disk) can be inserted into alarger cartridge so that the smaller cartridge can work in computersthat take the larger cartridges.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The first objective of the present invention is to provide a 3 & 1/2inch floppy disk cartridge useful for computers with a removable andreusable 1 inch coin-sized magnetic disk.

The second object of this invention is to provide a portable computeruseable coin shaped magnetic disc that can be handheld and easilystored.

The third object of this invention is to provide a storage holder for acoin sized magnetic storage media that can easily clip onto papersallowing the storage media to be easily transportable.

A preferred embodiment of the adapter cartridge includes a cartridge inthe shape of a floppy diskette, a drive plate rotatably attached withinthe cartridge, a coin shaped magnetic disk connected to the cartridge,and a drive system for allowing the disk to rotate simultaneously withthe drive plate. In operation, the cartridge being inserted into acomputer disk drive allows the magnetic disk to record and play backdata. The magnetic disk can be removed for separate transport andstorage from the cartridge. The cartridge can have exterior dimensionsof approximately 3.55 inches wide, approximately 3.70 inches long andapproximately 0.13 inches thick The magnetic disk can have a diameter ofapproximately 1 inch. A spindle in the cartridge allows the magneticdisk to be removably attached to the cartridge so that that the magneticdisk is side by side to the drive plate.

A first version of the drive system can have a belt connecting therotating drive plate to the magnetic disk so that the drive plate andthe magnetic disk simultaneously rotates in the same direction. Thedrive plate and the coin disk spin axis are joined by a flexible belt. Asmall pulley is attached to the drive plate and concentrically alignedwith the drive plate spin axis. A second pulley mates with the coin diskand is concentrically aligned with the coin disk spin axis. A small beltwraps about the two pulleys. When the drive plate turns, it spins thedrive plate pulley which moves the belt which turns the coin disk pulleywhich spins the coin disk. Equal drive plate pulley and coin disk pulleydiameters assure the coin disk spins at the normal angular velocity ofthe drive.

A second version of the drive system can have a plate wheel supportingthe magnetic disk and having rough side edges which abut against roughside edges on the drive plate, so that rotating the drive plate in onedirection simultaneously by friction rotates the plate wheel in anopposite direction. A drive plate friction disk is attached to the driveplate and concentrically aligned with the drive plate spin axis. A coindisk friction plate mates with the coin disk and is concentricallyaligned with the coin disk spin axis. The two friction disks contacteach other at a tangent point with some force between the two frictiondisks at this pressure point. The friction disks will be made of amaterial, such as hard rubber, which offer significant frictional forceat the pressure point. This assures that the coin disk spins true whenthe drive plate spins and prevents slippage between the coin disk andthe drive plate as they both turn.

A third version of the drive system has a gear wheel for supporting themagnetic disk, the plate wheel having side teeth which mateablyinterconnect to side teeth on the drive plate, so that rotating thedrive plate in one direction simultaneously rotates the gear wheel in anopposite direction. Here a coin disk gear is driven by a drive plategear. The drive plate gear is attached to the normal drive plate and isconcentrically aligned with the drive plate spin axis. The coin diskgear mates to the coin disk and is concentrically aligned with the driveplate spin axis. The coin disk gear mates to the coin disk andconcentrically aligned with the coin disk spin axis. Both gears meshtogether at a tangent point and when the drive turns the drive plate,the gears turn the coin disk. Equal gear diameters and equal numbers ofteeth on both gears assure that the coin disks angular velocity is equalto the normal drive velocity.

A novel attachment device sized slightly larger than the coin disk canbe used for attaching the coin disk to a single sheet of paper, a stackof paper, cardboard and even a clipboard. The attachment device has acompartment for snapably receiving side edges of the coin disk therein,and a clip for attaching the device to the edge of the sheet.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent fromthe following detailed description of a presently preferred embodimentwhich is illustrated schematically in the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a prior art 3 & 1/2 inch floppy diskcartridge.

FIG. 1B is a partial exposed view of the magnetic disk within thecartridge of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of a novel coin disk used in the subjectinvention.

FIG. 2B is an enlarged cut-out section of the coin disk of FIG. 2A alongarrow A.

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of usingthe novel coin disk of FIGS. 2A-2B in a novel adapter cartridge.

FIG. 3B is a partial exposed view of the interior of the novel adaptercartridge of FIG. 3A.

FIG. 3C is an enlarged view of the belt drive system of the adaptercartridge of FIGS. 3A-3B.

FIG. 3D is a side view of the belt drive system of FIG. 3C along arrowB.

FIG. 3E is an enlarged view of the novel disk on the spindle in thecartridge of FIG. 3B.

FIG. 3F is perspective view of the adapter cartridge of the precedingfigures inserted into a conventional disk drive.

FIG. 3G is a side view of the adapter cartridge and disk drive of FIG.3F along arrow C.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a second preferred embodimentdrive system for use in the novel cartridge shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a third preferred embodimentdrive system for use in the novel cartridge shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B.

FIG. 6A is a top perspective view of an alternative housing for the coindisk of FIGS. 2A-2B.

FIG. 6B is a bottom perspective view of the housing of FIG. 6A alongarrow Y.

FIG. 6C is a side cross-sectional view of the housing of FIG. 6A alongarrow X.

FIG. 6D is a top view of the coin housing of FIG. 6A mounted in thecartridge adapter of FIG. 3A.

FIG. 6E is an enlarged view of the housing portion of coin disk of FIG.6D.

FIG. 7A is an enlarged exploded view of a novel attachment device forthe novel coin disk of the preceding figures.

FIG. 7B shows the attachment device of FIG. 7A being used with a stackof papers.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Before explaining the disclosed embodiment of the present invention indetail it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in itsapplication to the details of the particular arrangement shown since theinvention is capable of other embodiments. Also, the terminology usedherein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a prior art 3 & 1/2 inch floppydiskette/cartridge 1. FIG. 1B is a partial exposed view of the magneticdisk 4 within the cartridge 1 of FIG. 1A. Referring to FIGS. 1A-1B,prior art cartridge 1 can be a standard 3 & 1/2 inch floppydiskette/cartridge(2HD) having a recording capacity of 1.44 MB whenformatted, such as but not limited to those manufactured by Iomega,Syguest, Teac, Verbatim, Sony, 3-M, Maxwell, TDK and the like. Thestandard floppy diskette 1 generally consists of a thin plasticrectangular case 3 approximately 3.55 inches wide, approximately 3.70inches long and approximately 0.13 inches thick. The magnetic disk 4inside of case 3, is formed from a round, thin sheet of flexible plasticimpregnated with a magnetic material having a diameter of approximately3.37 inches and a thickness of approximately 0.003 inches(approximatelythe thickness of a sheet of paper). Glued to the center of disk 4 is athin metal drive plate 7 which acts like a spindle allowing the disk torotate in the direction of arrow R. The standard floppy disk 1 of FIGS.1A-1B includes a sliding shutter 2 which slides in the direction ofarrow S on one end of case 3. Under the shutter is an access window 5located on both sides of case 3 which opens to the magnetic media disk4. When the diskette/cartridge 1 is inserted into a conventional diskdrive, the drive spindle of the disk drive(both not shown since they arenot part of the invention), the drive spindle engages the round metaldrive plate 7 on the diskette/cartridge and spins the disk 4 at apreselected angular velocity. As the disk 4 spins in the direction ofarrow R, heads inside the disk drive read the surfaces of the magneticdisk 4.

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of a novel coin disk 10 used in thesubject invention. FIG. 2B is an enlarged cut-out section of the coindisk 10 of FIG. 2A along arrow A. Referring to FIGS. 2A-2B, novel coindisk 10 is comprised of a plastic disk body base 20 having an upperexternal raised lip edge 22 above a top planar surface 24, and a lowerexternal raised lip edge 26 above a bottom planar surface 28. A topmagnetic layer 34 adheres to the top surface 24, while a bottom magneticlayer 38 is adhered to the bottom surface 28. A cylindrical opening 30forms the disk rotor area of which will be explained in greater detailin reference to FIGS. 3A-3G, includes approximately three inwardlyprojecting plastic pins 35. Novel coin disk 10 can have an overalldiameter of approximately 1.0 inches(the approximate diameter of aquarter), and a thickness of approximately 0.09 inches.

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of a first preferred embodiment 100 ofusing the novel coin disk 10 of FIGS. 2A-2B in a novel adapter cartridge100. FIG. 3B is a partial exposed view of the interior of the noveladapter cartridge 100 of FIG. 3A. FIG. 3C is an enlarged view of thebelt drive system 110, 120 of the adapter cartridge 100 of FIGS. 3A-3B.FIG. 3D is a side view of the belt drive system 110, 120 of FIG. 3Calong arrow B. FIG. 3E is an enlarged view of the novel disk 10 on thespindle 112 in the cartridge 100 of FIG. 3B.

Referring to FIGS. 3A-3E, cartridge 100 is a thin plastic rectangularcase having overall dimensions identical to the floppy disks of theprior art being approximately 3.55 inches wide, approximately 3.70inches long and approximately 0.13 inches thick. Novel cartridge 100includes a upper door 105 with a top drive head access window 107,hingedly connected 109 to the cartridge body 100. Door 105 can tightlysnap into opening 106 of the upper surface 108 of the cartridge 100.Opposite the top drive head access window 107 is a bottom drive headaccess window 103 bottom surface 104 of the cartridge 100.

Referring to FIGS. 3A-3D, spindle 112 has a center hole for mountingabout an axle pin 115 which is secured to lower bottom floor 104 of thecartridge 100, so that spindle 112 and an adhered to pulley 114 canrotate relative to the cartridge 100. A drive plate 122 with slotsimilar to the like components described in reference to FIGS. 1A-1B,similarly floatably fits within the bottom portion of the cartridge 100.The novel drive plate 122 includes an upper surface attached pulley 124which connects to pulley 114 by a belt 119 such as a rubber band, andthe like.

Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3E, coin disk 10 is inserted into cartridge100 by manually inserting the disk 10 in the direction of arrow D sothat the pins 35 of the disk 10 abut between the tabs 113 on the spindle112 locking the disk 10 in place. Referring to FIG. 3B, drive plate 120rotating in the direction of arrow R1 uses the pulley 119 tosimultaneously rotate disk 10 in the same direction of R1.

FIG. 3F is perspective view of the adapter cartridge 100 of precedingFIGS. 3A-3E inserted into a conventional disk drive 150 of a PCcomputer. The novel cartridge 100 is inserted inside conventional diskdrive 150 as a conventional cartridge of FIGS. 1A-1B is done. FIG. 3G isa side view of the adapter cartridge 100 and disk drive 150 of FIG. 3Falong arrow C. Referring to FIGS. 3F-3G, novel cartridge 100 is insertedin the direction of arrow E into the disk drive 150 in the same manneras conventional floppy diskettes are used. The read heads 160 of thedisk drive 150 have a top read head 162 which can access the rotatingmagnetic coin disk 10 through the top drivehead access window 107(shownin FIG. 3A) in upper surface 108 of the cartridge 100, while the bottomread head 164 accesses the rotating magnetic coin disk 10 through thebottom drivehead access window 103(shown in FIG. 3A) in the bottomsurface 104 of the cartridge 100. Note that the conventional disk driveshutter actuator 170 on disk drive 150 is still operable to open thesliding shutter usually found on traditional 3&1/2 inch floppydiskettes. Again drive plate 122 rotating in the direction of arrow R1by way of belt 119 causes coin disk 10 simultaneously to rotate in thesame direction.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view 200 of a second preferredembodiment drive system for use in the novel cartridge shown in FIGS. 3Aand 3B. Referring to FIG. 4, second preferred embodiment includes adrive gear wheel 222 having outer teeth edges 225 which has a lower endthat is fixedly secured to a drive plate 122(similar to the likenumbered drive plate of FIG. 3C), by a center pin 221. A slot 226 passesthrough a bottom slot 126 of drive plate 122. Together drive gear wheel222 and drive plate 122 functions similarly to the like componentsdescribed in reference to FIGS. 1A-1B, so that drive gear wheel 222 anddrive plate 122 fit and float within the bottom portion of the cartridge100. Spindle 212 and axle pin 215 and pulley 214 correspond and functionsimilarly to like components 112, 115 and 114, respectively of FIGS.3C-3D. In embodiment 200, a circular coin disk gear wheel 216 with outerteeth edges 215 is fixably attached about the pulley 214 so that therespective teeth 215 and 225 of both gear wheels 216 and 222 rotatesimultaneously with one another. In operation, the novel coin disk 10 ofFIGS. 2A-2B is inserted and removed from spindle 212 and functionssimilarly to the previous embodiment. Note that when drive gear wheel222 is rotating clockwise(CW), the coin disk gear wheel 216 is rotatingcounter-clockwise(CCW). Even though the removably attached memory disk10 rotates in an opposite direction to the drive plate 122, the sameangular rate of speed is maintained and data is recorded and/or playedback similarly to that of the previous embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view 300 of a third preferredembodiment drive system for use in the novel cartridge shown in FIGS. 3Aand 3B. Referring to FIG. 5, third preferred embodiment 300 includes adrive friction plate 322 having outer roughened exterior side edges325(such as grooves, rubber edges, and the like) which has a lower endthat is fixedly secured to a drive plate 122(similar to the likenumbered drive plate of FIG. 3C), by a center pin 321. A slot 326 passesthrough a bottom slot 126 of drive plate 122. Together drive frictionplate 322 and drive plate 122 functions similarly to the like componentsdescribed in reference to FIGS. 1A-1B, so that drive friction plate 322and drive plate 122 fit and float within the bottom portion of thecartridge 100. Spindle 312 and axle pin 315 and pulley 314 correspondand function similarly to like components 112, 115 and 114, respectivelyof FIGS. 3C-3D. In embodiment 300, a coin disk gear wheel 316 withroughened exterior side edges 315(such as grooves, rubber edges, and thelike) is fixably attached about the pulley 314 so that the respectiveedges 315 and 325 of both plates 316 and 322 rotate simultaneously withone another. In operation, the novel coin disk 10 of FIGS. 2A-2B isinserted and removed on the spindle 3112 and functions similarly to theprevious embodiments. Note that when drive friction plate 322 isrotating clockwise(CW), the coin disk friction plate 316 is rotatingcounter-clockwise(CCW). Even though the memory disk 10 rotates in anopposite direction, the same angular rate of speed is maintained anddata is recorded and/or played back similarly to that of the previousembodiment.

FIG. 6A is a top perspective view 400 of an alternative housing 402 forthe coin disk 10(now renumbered 410) of FIGS. 2A-2B. FIG. 6B is a bottomperspective view of the housing 402 of FIG. 6A along arrow Y. FIG. 6C isa side cross-sectional view of the housing 402 of FIG. 6A along arrow X.FIG. 6D is a top view of the coin housing 402 of FIG. 6A mounted in thecartridge adapter 100(now renumbered 460) of FIG. 3A. FIG. 6E is anenlarged view of the coin disk housing 400 of FIG. 6D.

Referring to FIGS. 6A-6E, a plastic coin disk housing 402 has a coindisk 410(corresponding to coin disk 10 of FIGS. 2A-2B) inserted therein.A central disk rotor opening 430 has interior protruding pins435(corresponding to pins 35 of FIG. 2A). A metal shutter rotatablymovable in the direction of arrow Z4 hingedly rotates relative tocentral points 421 and 423 of the housing 402 and is spring loaded by atorsion spring 425 to stay in an initial closed position as shown inFIG. 6A. Moving the shutter in the direction of arrow Z4 exposes top andbottom windows 452, 454, respectively exposing the magnetic surfaces412(only one is shown here) of magnetic disk 410. An anti-rotation tab406 extends from the housing 402 to fit within a mateable edge groove466 in the cylindrical slot 465 in cartridge 460. Pins 435 fit about thespindles 112, 212, 312 shown and described in reference to the previousfigures. Although not shown, the door 105 shown in FIG. 3A can be usedwith the embodiment of FIGS. 6A-6E.

In operation inserting disk adapter cartridge 460 into a typical diskdrive(such as the one shown in FIG. 3F) allows for disk drive shutteractuator 470(corresponding to the disk drive shutter actuator 170 ofFIG. 3F) to move in the direction of arrow Z1, abuting against the coindisk shutter actuator 480(that moves in the direction of arrow Z3)having a through-hole opening 485 to catch about the raised pin 490 onthe coin disk shutter 420. Pin 490 slides downward in the direction ofarrow Z2 causing shutter 420 to pivot about center point 421 exposingmagnetic media surface 412 of magnetic disk 410.

FIG. 7A is an enlarged exploded view 500 of a novel attachment devicefor the novel coin disk 10 of the preceding figures. FIG. 7B shows theattachment device 500 of FIG. 7A being used with a stack of papers 550.Referring to FIGS. 7A-7B, a novel attachment device can be formed frominjection molded plastic and the like and includes raised arc sides 510and 520 which tightly allow the side edges 22, 26 of the coin disk tosnap within when moved in the direction of arrow M. The arc sides 510and 520 have respective bottom surface portions 515 and 525. A bendablepaper clip portion 530 movable downward in the direction of arrow Nallows the attachment device 500 to attach to an edge of a stack ofpapers 550, cardboard, clipboard, and the like.

Although the preferred embodiment can use the magnetic disks describedin reference to the 3 & 1/2 inch floppy disks having 1.44 MB describedin reference to FIGS. 1A-1B, the subject invention can use magneticdisks manufactured in accordance with recently introduced high memorycapacity floppy disks. The coin disk of the subject invention can bemanufactured with the technology used in the high-capacity 3 & 1/2 inchfloppy disks having a 200 MB(megabyte both sides) recording capacitysuch as the HiFD manufactured jointly by Sony Corp. and Fuji Photo FilmCo. Mac Publications "HiFD to support new, old floppies", MacWEEK News,Vol. 11 Issue 40, Oct. 17, 1997, pages 1-3. Additionally, the subjectcoin disk can be manufactured with the technology of the 3 & 1/2 inchSuperDisk™ that have a 120 MB capacity manufactured by ImationCorporation. Imation Brochure Super Disk™ LS-120 Diskettes, 1997. Thus,the approximately 1 inch diameter magnetic coin disks using either theHIFD or SuperDisk™ technology would have greater capacity than theconventional standard 3 & 1/2 inch floppy disks.

While the preferred embodiment has described using removable coin shapedmagnetic memory disks, the invention can be applicable to other types ofcomputer storage media such as but not limited to compacts disks(CDs),and the like, where coin shaped compact disks can be used in place ofthe magnetic coin disks and have a higher density for storage.

While the invention has been described, disclosed, illustrated and shownin various terms of certain embodiments or modifications which it haspresumed in practice, the scope of the invention is not intended to be,nor should it be deemed to be, limited thereby and such othermodifications or embodiments as may be suggested by the teachings hereinare particularly reserved especially as they fall within the breadth andscope of the claims here appended.

We claim:
 1. An adapter cartridge for personal computers, comprising, incombination:a cartridge in the shape of a floppy diskette, saidcartridge being operable in a floppy disk drive; a drive plate rotatablyattached to a central portion of the cartridge, the drive plate having aside slot about a rotatable axis, and having a drive plate diameter; aninsertable and removable coin shaped magnetic disk having a diskdiameter rotatably connected to the cartridge, the drive plate diameterbeing substantially equal to the disk diameter; and a drive system fordirectly allowing the disk to rotate simultaneously at substantially anidentical angular velocity with the drive plate, wherein inserting thecartridge into a computer disk drive to access the side slot allows thecoin shaped magnetic disk to record and play back data and the magneticdisk is removable for separate transport and storage from the cartridge,wherein said drive system includes a spindle for engaging the coinshaped magnetic disk; said spindle being laterally offset from saidrotatable axis of said drive plate in a direction parallel to arecording surface of said coin shaped magnetic disk.
 2. The adaptercartridge of claim 1, wherein the cartridge includes exterior dimensionsof: approximately 3.55 inches by approximately 3.70 inches byapproximately 0.13 inches thick.
 3. The adapter cartridge of claim 2,wherein the coin shaped magnetic disk includes:an approximately 1 inchdiameter.
 4. The adapter cartridge of claim 1, further including:saidspindle for allowing the magnetic disk to be removably attached to thecartridge so that that the magnetic disk is side by side to the driveplate.
 5. The adapter cartridge of claim 1, wherein the drive systemincludes:a belt connecting the rotating drive plate to the magnetic diskso that the drive plate and the magnetic disk simultaneously rotate inthe same direction.
 6. The adapter cartridge of claim 1, wherein thedrive system includes:a plate wheel for supporting the magnetic disk,the plate wheel having rough side edges which abut against rough sideedges on the drive plate, so that rotating the drive plate in onedirection simultaneously rotates the plate wheel in an oppositedirection.
 7. The adapter cartridge of claim 6, wherein the plate wheelincludes:said spindle for allowing the magnetic disk to be removablyattached to the cartridge so that that the magnetic disk is side by sideto the drive plate.
 8. The adapter cartridge of claim 1, wherein thedrive system includes:a gear wheel for supporting the magnetic disk, thegear wheel having side teeth which mateably interconnect to side teethon the drive plate, so that rotating the drive plate in one directionsimultaneously rotates the gear wheel in an opposite direction.
 9. Theadapter cartridge of claim 8, wherein the gear wheel includes:saidspindle for allowing the magnetic disk to be attached to the cartridgeso that the magnetic disk is side by side to the drive plate.
 10. Theadapter cartridge of claim 1, further comprising:a substantiallycylindrical housing for supporting the magnetic disk therein, thehousing being insertable and removable from a side portion of thecartridge, the housing having a movable shutter which exposes magneticsides of the magnetic disk when the cartridge is inserted into thepersonal computer disk drive.
 11. The adapter cartridge of claim 10,wherein the housing further includes:a spring means for allowing theshutter to be biased shut, closing of access windows to magnetic sidesof the magnetic disk.
 12. The adapter cartridge of claim 10, wherein thehousing further includes:a tab portion extending out from the housing sothat when the housing in mounted in the cartridge, the housing remainsstationary to the cartridge.
 13. The adapter cartridge of claim 1,further comprising:an attachment device sized slightly larger than thedisk for allowing only the disk to be attached to a planar sheet. 14.The adapter cartridge of claim 13, wherein the attachment deviceincludes:a compartment for receiving side edges of the coin disktherein; and a clip means for attaching the device to an edge of theplanar sheet.
 15. The adapter cartridge of claim 13, wherein the planarsheet is chosen from at least one of:a paper, a stack of papers, acardboard sheet, a stack of cardboard, and a clipboard.
 16. An adaptercartridge for personal computers, comprising in combination:a cartridgein the shape of an approximately 3 and 1/2 inch floppy diskette; a driveplate rotatably attached to a central lower portion of the cartridge,the drive plate having a side slot about a rotatable central axis, andhaving a drive plate diameter; a removable coin shaped magnetic diskhaving a disk diameter, and being rotatably connected to the cartridge,the drive plate diameter being substantially equal to the disk diameter,the coin shaped magnetic disk being able to be separately and easily beinserted and removed from a mateable round opening within the cartridge;and a drive system for directly allowing the coin shaped magnetic diskto rotate simultaneously in a side-by-side position at substantially anidentical angular velocity with the drive plate, wherein inserting thecartridge into a computer disk drive to access the side slot allows thecoin shaped magnetic disk to record and play back data, and the magneticdisk can be removed for separate transport and storage from thecartridge, wherein said drive system includes a spindle for engaging thecoin shaped magnetic disk; said spindle being laterally offset from saidrotatable axis of said drive plate in a direction parallel to arecording surface of said coin shaped magnetic disk.
 17. The adaptercartridge of claim 16, wherein the coin shaped disk includes:anapproximately one inch diameter.